Has Connor Bedard quietly became underrated ?

[Fraser28]

I think Bedard will finish with around 80 points if he stays healthy.

Then next year around 90. Perhaps the year after that he hits 100.

Little bit of a slower progression than first hoped, but he’ll consistently get over 100 points in his early 20s IMO.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Coaching change has been good for him. Been on a good run recently.

 

[PattyLafontaine]

He's getting caved. 1g (pp) -4 and 0 of 7 on faceoffs

 

[MrHeiskanen]

He's getting caved. 1g (pp) -4 and 0 of 7 on faceoffs

Very unimpressive player every time Dallas plays him, I know he isn't bad but most games against Dallas he doesn't look special.

 

[SimpleJack]

Very unimpressive player every time Dallas plays him, I know he isn't bad but most games against Dallas he doesn't look special.

He's getting caved. 1g (pp) -4 and 0 of 7 on faceoffs

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Bedard is literally all we have outside of 1-2 other guys

Its really pathetic how little the Hawks have done to help kid

Another year or two of this and I could see Bedard wanting out

 

[ViD]

Why do they keep forcing him to take face offs when he’s literally the worst in the league in that category?

 

[Beau Knows]

Why do they keep forcing him to take face offs when he’s literally the worst in the league in that category?

Probably because they aren't worried about winning games this year and want him to work on that skill for when they are a competitive team.

 

[MNRube]

An elite offensive weapon. But he’s atrocious defensively and on the dot. Still really difficult to project who he is in 5-10 years, largely because Hawks forwards are so bad

 

[WarriorofTime]

Why do they keep forcing him to take face offs when he’s literally the worst in the league in that category?

He’s a wing who wants to be a center and in Canada they put all the best kids at center and not being center means you got a demotion somewhere along the line. So that’s kinda where we’re at. Also the hawks don’t have any other centers on present day roster so it’s just all a thing where Bedard plays center when he ought to be a right wing.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

Lol. No way. Over rated and trending down.

 

[CallMeShaft]

He’s a wing who wants to be a center and in Canada they put all the best kids at center and not being center means you got a demotion somewhere along the line. So that’s kinda where we’re at. Also the hawks don’t have any other centers on present day roster so it’s just all a thing where Bedard plays center when he ought to be a right wing.

He's playing center because it's easier to distribute the puck from the middle as opposed to along the boards.

Maybe he ends up at wing and just plays wing the same way guys like Kane and Kucherov play, but the Hawks lose nothing giving him a very long look at that position.

And for those discussing the game VS Dallas, it wasn't a good game for him. Yet he still scored Chicago's only goal and had the most sog on the team. So maybe pump the brakes a bit. Plus/minus is a flawed stat (though I do admit he sucks at the dot).

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Mitch Marner would be a perfect signing for them this summer. The Leafs will re-sign him for sure, but maybe Rantanen shakes loose?

 

[Acallabeth]

Probably because they aren't worried about winning games this year and want him to work on that skill for when they are a competitive team.

Is it really beneficial?

Among Bedard's weak areas, faceoffs are one of the least important - simply because a winger with superior faceoff skills can reliably take draws until Lil' C can do it himself. IIRC, Malkin had his winger linemates take the faceoffs in his place well into his superstardom.

Bedard is already under a lot of pressure due to the hype, on a terrible team. He is his team's main scoring forward, but is struggling to perform according to (very high) expectations. Shouldn't he be focusing on polishing his main area of expertise instead of being thrown to the wolves to 'work' on a relatively minor part of his problems? All it does is making him even more insecure.

pump the brakes a bit. Plus/minus is a flawed stat (though I do admit he sucks at the dot).

Yeah, it's a confusing stat that is both individual and heavily line-dependent.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Since the coaching change:

13 pts in 11 games.

He's doing fine.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

Since the coaching change:

13 pts in 11 games.

He's doing fine.

All this doom and gloom but seems to be producing better lately

 

[Fraser28]

Lol. No way. Over rated and trending down.

13 points in 11 games since the coaching change is the opposite of trending down compared to before the coaching change.

 

[Bombshell11]

He's playing center because it's easier to distribute the puck from the middle as opposed to along the boards.

Maybe he ends up at wing and just plays wing the same way guys like Kane and Kucherov play, but the Hawks lose nothing giving him a very long look at that position.

And for those discussing the game VS Dallas, it wasn't a good game for him. Yet he still scored Chicago's only goal and had the most sog on the team. So maybe pump the brakes a bit. Plus/minus is a flawed stat (though I do admit he sucks at the dot).

+/- flawed stat?

The guy was 0/7 on the faceoff and 2 of the goals Dallas scored happend just a few seconds after they won the faceoff from Bedard, 3 of the goals he was in he was either directly the cause or partially the cause.

Right now he's anchoring the Blackwaks team, too much effort is asked from his teammates to cover his flaws and too much energy is spent to defend when he's losing the FO.

The little offense he's providing is nothing to celebrate because it comes at a huge cost.

I think most people would appreciate him more if he's put on a "chair" that best suits him

13 points in 11 games since the coaching change is the opposite of trending down compared to before the coaching change.

But why are you disregarding the pts he's giving the other team? Last night he costed the hawks at least 3 goals, 2 bad faceoffs and 2 bad coverages.

He's a player that needs a few years of physical development.

 

[nbwingsfan]

+/- flawed stat?

The guy was 0/7 on the faceoff and 2 of the goals Dallas scored happend just a few seconds after they won the faceoff from Bedard, 3 of the goals he was in he was either directly the cause or partially the cause.

Right now he's anchoring the Blackwaks team, too much effort is asked from his teammates to cover his flaws and too much energy is spent to defend when he's losing the FO.

The little offense he's providing is nothing to celebrate because it comes at a huge cost.

I think most people would appreciate him more if he's put on a "chair" that best suits him



But why are you disregarding the pts he's giving the other team? Last night he costed the hawks at least 3 goals, 2 bad faceoffs and 2 bad coverages.

He's a player that needs a few years of physical development.

The idea that Bedard is an anchor to that team is why this place can’t be taken seriously

 

[CallMeShaft]

+/- flawed stat?

The guy was 0/7 on the faceoff and 2 of the goals Dallas scored happend just a few seconds after they won the faceoff from Bedard, 3 of the goals he was in he was either directly the cause or partially the cause.

Right now he's anchoring the Blackwaks team, too much effort is asked from his teammates to cover his flaws and too much energy is spent to defend when he's losing the FO.

The little offense he's providing is nothing to celebrate because it comes at a huge cost.

I think most people would appreciate him more if he's put on a "chair" that best suits him



But why are you disregarding the pts he's giving the other team? Last night he costed the hawks at least 3 goals, 2 bad faceoffs and 2 bad coverages.

He's a player that needs a few years of physical development.

He is absolutely not an anchor, what an embarrassing take.

Faceoffs are a problem, yes. But plus/minus is still a shit stat. I think 90% of this site would agree with me on that.

 

[Calderon]

He’s a wing who wants to be a center and in Canada they put all the best kids at center and not being center means you got a demotion somewhere along the line. So that’s kinda where we’re at. Also the hawks don’t have any other centers on present day roster so it’s just all a thing where Bedard plays center when he ought to be a right wing.

Is this akin to something like having a bunch of aspiring classical singers and gorcing them all to sing tenor? Operas and other similar works need to have baritones and basses, too — and tenors aren't necessarily the best singers, they just tend to catch most of the attention. I suppose you can make the same analogy with lead guitarists and other band members and so forth.

It's intriguing how Canada trains virtually all their offensive talents to centers while Russia trains them to wingers. I wish there was more to learn about this subject.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Since the coaching change:

13 pts in 11 games.

He's doing fine.

He started getting his swagger back a few weeks before the switch, and as expected, he's finally starting to get some puck luck. He's riding a 13.24% 5v5 on ice sh% and a 20% AS individual shooting % since the change.

That said, if he's going to maintain this pace (which I think he can - I still believe he can crack 80 points this year), he's gotta find a way to generate more offensive opportunities at 5v5.

Of the 15 hawks with >100 mins in the last 11 games, Bedard has the lowest xGF/60 and xG%. And his HDCF/60 is far and away the worst on the team:

I know he's facing top shutdown opposition every night, but that's not something that is likely to change any time soon. If he wants to become a truly elite player, he's gonna have to figure out how generate more high danger chances against the other team's top defenders.

 

[CallMeShaft]

He started getting his swagger back a few weeks before the switch, and as expected, he's finally starting to get some puck luck. He's riding a 13.24% 5v5 on ice sh% and a 20% AS individual shooting % since the change.

That said, if he's going to maintain this pace (which I think he can - I still believe he can crack 80 points this year), he's gotta find a way to generate more offensive opportunities at 5v5.

Of the 15 hawks with >100 mins in the last 11 games, Bedard has the lowest xGF/60 and xG%. And his HDCF/60 is far and away the worst on the team:

View attachment 953619

I know he's facing top shutdown opposition every night, but that's not something that is likely to change any time soon. If he wants to become a truly elite player, he's gonna have to figure out how generate more high danger chances against the other team's top defenders.

This is a pretty fair comment.

Bedard is certainly the best player on this team, at least offensively, but like you said, he's facing tough matchups every single night. There are a few adjustments he needs to make over the next few years if he wants to take that next step. Personally, I'd love to see him get a bit faster and focus on his one-timer, kid passes up one time opportunities way to often just so he can try a wrister that the goalie has already moved into position to stop. Faceoffs too.

He's not a finished product yet, which might be the biggest difference between him and guys like Crosby and McDavid.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

This is a pretty fair comment.

Bedard is certainly the best player on this team, at least offensively, but like you said, he's facing tough matchups every single night. There are a few adjustments he needs to make over the next few years if he wants to take that next step. Personally, I'd love to see him get a bit faster and focus on his one-timer, kid passes up one time opportunities way to often just so he can try a wrister that the goalie has already moved into position to stop. Faceoffs too.

The one timer thing could be a big improvement that's easily fixable. And the speed thing should improve too.

However I think his biggest opportunity for improvement is his strength/balance and ability to hold onto pucks while getting leaned on. If he makes improvements there, he'll be able to take an extra half second to wait to make plays. Right now, it seems like the moment someone gets a body on him, the play dies, which is a big reason why he's transformed into more of a perimeter player. That extra strength would he huge for his confidence to try the patient high traffic plays he excelled so much at in junior.

Getting stronger on his stick will also help him fight through checks when trying to maneuver to open ice in high danger areas.

He's not a finished product yet, which might be the biggest difference between him and guys like Crosby and McDavid.

He's simply just not on the same athletic plane as those two, but yeah as teenagers those guys were just so much faster and/or stronger.

Crosby was constantly making improvements to his game though, I wouldn't say he was anywhere near a finished product. Specifically, he made huge improvements in his shooting and deflecting abilities. I actually think Bedard's skillset is more refined than both of them at the same age, he just doesn't have that elite athleticism.

 

[Bombshell11]

He is absolutely not an anchor, what an embarrassing take.

Faceoffs are a problem, yes. But plus/minus is still a shit stat. I think 90% of this site would agree with me on that.

What are you talking about?

Goals are scored from faceoffs... its not just "a problem" its a major problem, you got scored 2 goals within a few seconds from 2 lost faceoffs by Bedard. You got 1 guy on your team who's causing you to play catch up hockey.

His defensive coverage is terrible, do you not see the giant flaws in his game?

+/- is shit? ok buddy, good one.